(The Center Square) — Reactions to Saturday’s U.S. airstrikes against Iran persist along party lines in the Southwest.
The strikes hit major nuclear facilities, including Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan.
Both Republican and Democratic officials praised the military and intelligence community for their professionalism and patriotism. They agree Iran should never be allowed to develop or get a nuclear weapon.
They made their comments before President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire Monday afternoon between Iran and Israel.
Before the ceasefire announcement, leaders called for vigilance against possible retaliation after Saturday’s airstrikes.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said Sunday she joined a conference call with other governors and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to discuss threats linked to Iran.
“I appreciate the administration’s coordination,” Hobbs, a Democrat, posted on X. “Arizona remains vigilant and prepared to protect our communities and critical infrastructure from physical and cyber threats.”
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, backed President Donald Trump’s actions to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“I stand with Israel and appreciate President Trump’s thoughtful and timely action to neutralize Iranian nuclear sites,” Lombardo posted on X. “A nuclear Iran would threaten global security and pose a direct threat to both Israel and America.”
However, U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., called the airstrikes “unconstitutional” because the president carried them out without congressional authorization.
“The intelligence I’ve seen, and it’s been limited, indicates that Iran had certainly enriched uranium, but had not made the decision to build a bomb or pursue the mechanism of a bomb,” the Burbank Democrat said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And in the absence of that, this is not a strike that should have been ordered.”
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., claimed Trump “disregarded his constitutional responsibility to seek and secure congressional authorization before launching these strikes.”
“Before any further military action is taken, President Trump must come before Congress,” Padilla said in a statement on his website.
But another California member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, said Trump “made the right move.”
“No other country has the capability to take out this type of threat. I support President Trump’s decision to take action before it was too late,” LaMalfa posted on X.
“Iran’s leaders chant ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel’ as official policy, and they mean it. They’ve made it clear that if they ever got their hands on a nuclear weapon, they’d use it on America and Israel,” LaMalfa said. “We could not leave major Iranian nuclear sites operational and intact.”
In a statement to KCRA3, U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, said eliminating Iran’s nuclear capability “is an absolute national security imperative” for Israel, the U.S. “and free people around the world.”
In Arizona, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a Navy combat veteran, said he’s concerned about how Trump and his administration made the decision to launch the airstrikes.
“As a combat pilot, I’ve noticed that folks without combat experience are often the first to rush into dropping a bomb,” the Democrat and former astronaut said. He added it will take time to see how successful the strikes are in degrading Iran’s nuclear capability.
“The next steps must be to work to contain this, deter Iran from retaliating and escalating further, and use every diplomatic tool possible to protect Americans and our interests, including preventing Iran from restarting their nuclear program,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Abraham Hamadeh, R-Ariz., agreed with Trump’s decision on the airstrikes.
“Peace through strength is only possible if we are resolved to do what is necessary,” Hamadeh said in a statement on his website. “President Trump took decisive action to eliminate any vestige of Iran’s nuclear program.”
However, leaders of the Democratic minority in the Arizona Senate noted Trump promised to end wars, not start ones.
“Now, to distract from his disastrous domestic policy agenda, he has once again betrayed the American people and threatens to plunge our nation and the world into another dark and endless chapter of bloodshed,” the leaders said in a statement emailed to the media. “We extend our thoughts and our prayers to every Arizonan with loved ones in harm’s way in the region.”
U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, said Iran has always been clear about wanting to destroy the U.S. and Israel and must not be allowed to develop or obtain a nuclear weapon.
She called on the president to involve Congress before taking further action against Iran and respect lawmakers’ constitutional role in the use of force.
The U.S. Constitution makes the president commander-in-chief, but grants Congress the sole power to declare war. However, Congress hasn’t actually done that since it voted to declare war against the Axis powers – Japan, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania – in 1941-42 during World War II.
After the U.S. fought the Vietnam War without a congressional declaration of war, Congress in 1973 passed the War Powers Act, which sets the conditions in which the president can use armed forces absent a declaration of war. The law says the president can’t deploy troops in a military action for more than 60 days without congressional authorization.
